The CES 2026 Consumer Electronics Show in the US shows a clear shift in the transportation technology picture. US automakers are almost no longer present at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This gap is filled by self-driving car companies such as Zoox, Waymo, Tier IV, Geely, GWM, and a series of software and chip companies for automobiles.
A major highlight at CES this year is the concept of "physical AI" - the name given by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to describe the removal of artificial intelligence from the digital world, applying it directly to the real environment. AI models combined with sensors, cameras and control systems allow robots, drones, self-driving cars or robot taxis to recognize the surrounding environment and make their own operating decisions. This technology is being deployed from agriculture, industrial manufacturing to transportation and smart wearable devices.
Hyundai's booth is one of the most crowded areas at the exhibition. The Korean automaker did not bring cars, but introduced a series of robots, including the Atlas humanoid robot developed by Boston Dynamics. Hyundai Motor Group Robot Lab also demonstrated a self-driving car charging robot and the four-wheeled movement platform MobEd, expected to be put into production this year. These humanoid robot lines became the focus of attraction at CES 2026.
The interest in humanoid robots and physical AI is increasing sharply, but also accompanied by doubts about practicality. Answering the question of whether humanoid robots are just a temporary trend, Mr. Amnon Shashua - co-founder and chairman of Mobileye said that history has witnessed similar doubts about the internet. According to him, the fact that some companies are overvalued and then collapse does not mean that the field does not exist. He affirmed that humanoid robots are a fundamental development direction and will continue to advance in the future.
